Abstract
Soil samples from a transect from low to highly hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were collected around the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF), located at King George Island, Antarctica. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes, 16S rRNA gene (iTag), and shotgun metagenomic sequencing were used to characterize microbial community structure and the potential for petroleum degradation by indigenous microbes. Hydrocarbon contamination did not affect bacterial abundance in EACF soils (bacterial 16S rRNA gene qPCR). However, analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a successive change in the microbial community along the pollution gradient. Microbial richness and diversity decreased with the increase of hydrocarbon concentration in EACF soils. The abundance of Cytophaga, Methyloversatilis, Polaromonas, and Williamsia was positively correlated (p-value =
Original language | English (US) |
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Journal | Geobiology |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 20 2021 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-09-28Acknowledgements: This study was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, financial code 001), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the Earth Microbiome Program (EMP) for the sequencing data presented in this study.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- General Environmental Science
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences